Weather for the weekend started misty and cleared a few hours later with moderate temperatures. I parked at Zigzag Mtn TH and started running (7:42am 8/27/22) the connecting road mile to the Zigzag ranger station (ccw). Upper Hunchback still has significant large blowdown, estimate 30 minute delay. I had a major slip on the Green Way descent, managing to embed mud between watch and wrist, which I believe led to my watch draining prematurely (hence the two tracks). Salmon River was in good condition early, but the remote back section had a lot of awkward smaller blowdown. Frequent water available along SRT. While I was consulting GPS nav on Jackpot Meadows, I realized the route follows a dirt road to shortcut to the PCT, vs following the Jackpot trail all the way south, saving me 1-2mi. Glad I checked! PCT is so well maintained, a huge contrast and welcome respite. Quite a few thru-hikers. I reached Timberline heading east around Hood just before sunset. Here I saw the only 2 runners of the weekend, finishing their timberline loop.
White River crossing was still in daylight, headlamp on at Hood Meadows. Water refill at Newton spring. The Newton Ck crossing is washed out this year. I had some trouble finding the detour as there were many tents and I was trying not to disturb them. But I found the crossing in a few minutes, dry feet. The section over Gnarl and Lamberson was stunning with stars and the eerie synchronized red lights of the windmills everywhere, with a light breeze. I refilled from spigot at Cloud Cap camp, continuing down to the new Eliot crossing. I was grateful for cairns showing the best way at most crossings. Eliot crossing was fine, with a bit of loose scramble up the far side. I had trouble picking up the trail, GPS nav saved me again. The NE section is remote and I really felt the isolation. There are lots of crossings and some blowdown so it just takes time, more so in the dark. Reached Muddy Ck just before daylight where I planned water refill, but it was somewhat silty (go figure) and my filter was already struggling so I postponed. This next section was the weirdest mentally. Usually sunlight brings energy, but instead I was literally falling asleep on my feet. A nap would've made sense but it was a little chilly and I had a couple things to take care of first. There's good water near the Sandy crossing, then I proceeded up the long climb to Paradise. Along here I found a nice moss bed for a refreshing 15min dirt nap. Here is where I switched tracking from my watch to my phone (CalTopo), and recharged the InReach. Paradise meadow was beautiful in the mid-morning sun with lots of alpine flowers and creeks, lupine fragrance and spectacular views to the south and west.
After Paradise I expected to leave well-groomed trails behind, but the condition of the Zigzag Tr was even worse than I thought. Besides years of blowdown, the underbrush was so thick I couldn't see the tread for many sections. Running was impossible. The morning dew was still thick on all the brush so I got thoroughly soaked. Finally after a couple hours of that I reached the E Zigzag summit and enjoyed an extended break and drying session, with unique views of Hood and volcanoes to the north. The descent down Cast Ck Tr is super fun with the perfect grade and soft tread through the dense forest. At Riley's Horse Camp I filled bottles with rusty water from a hand pump. I hope it wasn't just for the horses. I found my way to the Horseshoe Ridge Tr to climb back up to the Zigzag ridge. Rather than ford the creek like the horses do, I very carefully crossed a large log suspended 4m above the creek. I was tired of wet feet. It was warm in the early afternoon and I took another catnap partway up the climb. Near the top I knew the ridge trail was just on the other side of a few boulders, but the route continues the other direction through overgrown trail to meet the junction proper, before doubling back along the ridge trail. After this convoluted maneuver I was heading E back to a point very close to where I left the ridge 13 miles earlier. There is a bit more gratuitous mileage and vert going down to S Burnt Lk TH and then up W Zigzag Tr which has some sections that were so steep that it was exhausting just standing in place. But finally after rejoining the main Zigzag Tr, the rest of the route heads naturally west out the rest of the ridge toward the finish. I reached this just at sunset and the amazing light lifted my spirits. After 2-3 rolling miles along the ridge, the final stretch is the infamous "endless" switchbacks to the bottom. I startled a deer or something on the steep slope above me. The switchbacks (only 34) were actually pretty fun even with 100m legs and I finished strong.
I restarted my almost-dead watch at the end to verify a consistent start/finish timestamp at the finish. After reading Christof's story I opted to sleep the night at the trailhead before heading home.
I love how the route combines the classic Timberline with the nearby prominent but seldom-visited features of Hunchback, Salmon River, and Zigzag Mtn. I chose the ccw direction to get the Hunchback out of the way early, but in retrospect I don't think cw would be significantly worse. For supported efforts there would be good access points at Salmon River TH, Frog Lk, Barlow Pass, Cloud Cap, Top Spur (short hike), and Riley's Horse Camp.
Gear: Salomon 12L vest and flipbelt, z-poles, Cascadia shoes, 7500 kcal, 2L water capacity, Sawyer-mini filter, InReach Mini, small charger. The vest was rather heavy at ~10-12lb and hard on my shoulders.